MARKETING PERSPECTIVE OF VISUAL MERCHANDISING: IMPLICATIONS

FOR GLOBAL RETAILERS

İbrahim KIRCOVA
Yıldız Technical University/Assoc. Prof. Dr.
Postal Address: Iktisadi ve Idari Bilimler Fakültesi, Barbaros Bulvarı,
Beşiktaş-İstanbul
Phone: +9021222597070-2753; Fax: +902122594202
E-mail: kircova@yildiz.edu.tr

Keywords: Retailing, Visual Display, Merchandising

ABSTRACT

Visual simulation and communication has always been considered one of the most important
aspects of retailing. Although display is not the most effective tool to attract consumers to
purchase, it is a fact that it does have an effect on purchase behaviour. "Visual merchandising"
is a new name for "display" and the re-naming of this expression has added professionalism to
the function of display. Today most retailers give great importance to their visual image, as it
is the first aspect to attract consumers. Visual merchandising is the activity that coordinates
effective merchandise selection with effective merchandise display.

Visual merchandising has many dimensions, such as, interior display, merchandise display,
point-of-sale display and the architectural display. This paper is only concerned with
merchandise display and excludes other areas. As a result key facets, such as; layout,
fixturing, merchandise, presentation techniques, colour and packaging are included in this
study as these areas have different impacts on consumers’ buying behaviour and different
ways to draw their attention.

In this paper the purpose is to expose the effects of merchandise display on the buying
processes. The research is based on in-dept interviews held with managers of global retailers
about the importance of visual merchandising and its applications.

Keywords: Marketing, Visual Merchandising , Retailing, Store Image.

1. INTRODUCTION

Recently, retailers have been increasing their emphases on merchandise presentation, as

competition has grown and stores try to squeeze more sales out of existing square footage.
Many retailers are focusing more attention on in-store marketing, based on the theory that
marketing money spent inside the store, in the form of store design, merchandise presentation,
visual displays should lead to significantly greater sales and profit increases than marketing
money spent in advertising and other out of store vehicles such as public relations and
promotions. After all, it is easier to get a consumer who is already in your store to buy more
merchandise than planned than to get a new consumer to come into the store.
Visual Merchandising, the art of attracting patrons with visual cues, is central to a retailer’s
ability to generate sales. Visual Merchandising got its start at the turn of the century, when
department stores began using theatrical set design and lighting to create exotic displays.
Today, the way the departments are arranged, the location of the escalators, the lighting--all
are carefully planned to earn the store more sales per square foot.

Visual Merchandising is the art of presentation, which puts the merchandise in focus. It
educates the customers, creates desire and finally augments the selling process. Visual
merchandising, the art of dressing merchandise display areas with theme oriented props,
creates a mood for buying. (Tyreman and Walton, 1998)

2. VISUAL MERCHANDISING

Retailers spend a great deal of time and money on store environments to create images that
offer them a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace. (Joyce and Lambert, 1996)

Visual merchandising is a critical challenge for any retail business. Visual merchandising is
the art of creating eye-catching displays to attract customers to buy, presenting goods in an
attractive and understandable manner. Visual merchandising is the artistic display of
merchandise and theatrical props used as scene-setting decoration in the store. The goal visual
merchandising is to create a feeling in the store conducive to buying merchandise. (Dunne and
Lusch, 1999)

The major source of competitive advantage for retailers is found in the value added delivered
to customers, through the performance of functions or activities. This value added must be
firmly based upon customer needs and values, and may comprise both tangible or functional
and intangible or symbolic elements. (Burt and Encinas, 2000)

Shoppers make their purchases based in response to specific stimuli. Retailers who want to
increase their sales need to understand those responses and merchandise their stores
accordingly. Visual merchandising is what directs shoppers to buy products. While sales
promotion and advertising may bring customers to the store, visual merchandising is what
directs them to the products. In-store impulse sales are driven by the visualization of the
product in the right atmosphere.

Visual merchandising is:

 A combination of skills including creativity, order, artistic knowledge and

understanding of store design.
 Showing merchandise with the end purpose of making a sale.
 Keeping the interior presentation the same as what is promised on the outside/in the
window.
 Presenting an image of who/what the shopper can be when using the merchandise
displayed.
 Making the shopper a “stopper” and a walk-in rather than a walk -by.

Visual merchandising involves all areas of the store, including the interior and exterior of the
building, displays, fixtures, wall and floor coverings, lighting, music, mirrors, layout, signage
and, counters as well as cleanliness and the overall organization of the merchandise
assortment. The main and the most important elements of visual merchandising are explained
below:

DISPLAYS : All forms of merchandise presentation are considered to be displays. An

effective display should get the customer to stop, look and act. This is done by combining
merchandise and promotional activity with creativity, lighting, color, signs and movement
(line and design). The purpose of a display is to present and sell merchandise by conveying a
message about the product. It only takes seconds for the display to leave an impression on the
customer's mind. The purpose of displays;

 To create awareness: A good display draws attention to itself, focusing the consumer on
the products being featured.
 To inform: A display can be creative and/or artistic or a source of information and
education.
 To maintain brand identification: A display conveys a brand's identity. It's a means of
securing a competitive edge against similar products.
 To tie in with advertising or a promotion: If a new product and/or brand is being
launched or an advertising campaign is under way, a display that complements this
theme will maximize exposure and recognition, as it stimulates sales.
 To tell a story: A display can promote additional sales of related products when they are
featured together; for example, seasonal merchandise, themes, fashion colors.
 To reinforce a store image: The display principles that a store follows are consistent
with the retailer's corporate identity and business category; for example, high end
versus low end, or full service versus self service. (Mills, 1994)

A good display is a silent salesperson. When salespeople are busy with other customers, or the
shop is closed, a strong window or interior displays are selling points. Visual merchandising
should complement and enhance the image of the store. Combined with good lighting, strong
signage and professional fixtures, visual merchandising generates excitement and increases
sales. (Knight, 2003)

STORE LAYOUT: Store layouts are important determinants of visual merchandising and
buying behavior. In the context of the store layout, time-poor and highly mobile shoppers
require different spaces than, for example, consumers who leisure shop at discounts and
selectively during sale periods at various stages in the business cycle. Gender differences in
shopping styles can also justify quite specific changes to fashion store formats and space
allocation. For economic reasons, however, retailers typically adopt a standardized approach
to interior layouts and format designs, with the involvement of professional designers and
shop fitters. (Newman and Foxall, 2003)

Store layouts, and crucially the merchandise offered, are matched to the targeted consumers to
the extent that customers “buy into” branding statements when choosing to shop in the store.
Hence, the importance of customers’ reactions to the layout of merchandise in the store, and
the influence this has on sales, is self-evident. However, it is equally important to determine
customer reactions to other indiscriminative purchasing cues, some of which may negate the
positive benefits derived from the brand and merchandise characteristics (namely, the fashions
on offer).

Store layout affects consumers’ price acceptability, which is positively related to purchase
intentions, and willingness to buy. (Grewal and Baker, 1994) Store image is an important
factor affecting consumer behavior and store layout design is a critical determinant towards
the creation of that store image .Store layout is extremely important because they strongly
influence in-store traffic patterns, shopping atmosphere, shopping behavior, and operational
efficiency. Store layout design is one of the more important determinants of store loyalty.
Store layout design can play a key role not only in satisfying buyers’ requirements but also in
influencing their wants and preferences. (Vrechopoulos, O’Keefe, Doukidis, Siomkos, 2004).

MUSIC: The ambient dimension covers all the ‘‘background’’ stimuli in the store
environment usually referred to as atmospherics. Music is a part of this ambient dimension.
The presence of music influences purchase although influence was exerted via both the
central and peripheral routes of persuasion described in the elaboration likelihood model
(Kellaris and Cox, 1989) Music was found to evoke emotions by providing a link to prior
experiences, shorten time perceptions reduce boredom and was best viewed as a message
enhancer, i.e. can enhance reception of the advertising message. The need for music to fit the
environment or message due to the similarity of information at input and cues at output and
the effect of the type of purchase on the importance of this fit, i.e. as involvement increases so
does the positive or negative impacts of a good or bad fit. Prior research on moods stating that
music of a faster tempo was seen as happier than slow, firm rhythms were more serious than
smooth, high pitched music was more exciting and happy than low, minor keys were sadder
than major and louder music suggested animation whilst softer music suggested tranquility.
(Sullivan, 2002) Whatever the causal factors, if an individual had allocated a certain time
limit to an activity, the presence of music could affect that individual’s perception of time in
store thus increasing the time spent in the environment. (Yalch and Spangenberg, 1990)

COLOR: Color influences the viewer's visual and emotional reaction to the products. A
customer's perception of the colors observed will cause her/him to form impressions about the
merchandise displayed.
A display that contains orange or yellow may be used to feature sun products. A pale green
display with chrome accents creates a clean, almost "clinical" impression. Red may be used
for Christmas or Valentine's Day; black for a sophisticated line of products or seductive scent;
white conveys a feeling of purity; pink evokes a pretty, feminine or romantic mood; and a soft
charcoal grey complements a more prestigious line. Brown is not often used in cosmetics
displays because of its earthy, conservative nature, although lighter versions, like beige or
taupe, work well.

 Background color should be a neutral shade or complementary to a main color in the

product's packaging.
 Soft tints or subtle shades are more complementary than bright, strong colors, because
they do not draw attention away from merchandise.
 Low priced or high volume merchandise should be displayed with warm colors, a bright
background and contrasts.
 Exclusive or high end merchandise is better complemented with monochromatic, coo l
or neutral colors.
 Light colors create depth, while dark ones bring the background forward.
 Space, that surrounds the objects in a display, should be in proportion to them.
 Allowing more space in the display increases the focus on the product. This is often
used for a new product introduction or for more exclusive brands. Too much space
though, will draw attention to itself and away from the merchandise.
  A display that has a small space will often look crowded and unorganized if there are
too many products featured. These displays are often associated with lower priced,
volume merchandise.
 Size and shape of products in a display should be proportionate to each other. The shape
is the silhouette or form of the object, while the size is the dimension of the object.
(Mills, 1994)

ATMOSPHERE: The psychological impact of ‘‘the store’s atmosphere creates a retail image
in the shopper’s mind’’, the atmosphere influences consumer behavior in three ways; by
creating attention, messages and an emotional, affective response (McGoldrick, 1990 ).

The main sensory channels for atmosphere are sight, sound, scent and touch. Specifically, the
main visual dimensions of an atmosphere are color, brightness, size and shapes. The main
aural dimensions of an atmosphere are volume and pitch. The main olfactory dimensions of
an atmosphere are scent and freshness. The main tactile dimensions of an atmosphere are
softness, smoothness and temperature (Kotler, 1973).

Sensory psychologists can help to create a feeling of ‘‘being at home’’ for shoppers. Sounds
and smells can perform important, if not fully understood, roles in this respect. Music has
been shown to influence browsing and traffic flow behavior. Scents can create a perception of
friendlier, higher class and better-managed store. (Dupuis, 1998). Motivations for shopping
and consumer expectations of the shopping experience are influential on the level of pleasure
experiences (McGoldrick and Pieros, 1998). Also the lighting is important for the store
atmosphere. Good lighting makes shopping and merchandise choises easy.

ENVIRONMENT: Environmental cues including signage and exterior design as well as the
internal environment have been found to be significant in the predictive decision making by
consumers. (Ward, Bitner, and Barnes, 1992).

The retail name and logo from the fascia logically continued into the design of the retail
interior, capturing and summarizing the retailer’s brand values. The brand messages were
developed inside the store, which added depth to perceptions encapsulated in the logo. A
consistent approach across internal signage, store information, displays, packaging, carrier
bags and ticketing typically drew from the corporate identity, using the same color signals and
typefaces to create a coherent image. But design also has a functionality, to display
merchandise effectively using visual images, to instill trust, consistency and quality in the
consumer’s mind. As a result the store environment has come to communicate strong visual
sensory experiences of the retailer’s identity. Design has not been a central to all retail
strategy. It has been more significant among retailers competing for impulse purchases and
supplying the customers’ wants rather than needs, where visual appearances matter as much
as functionality.

Visual merchandising is fundamental to these environments. The designer must create

customer ‘‘cues’’ to draw the customer into a more fulfilling experience (Kent, 2003).

3. RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY

Fashion retailing is dynamic and fiercely competitive with an increasing number of new retail
brands in the marketplace. This dynamism in the sector means that customer requirements are
constantly in a state of flux. In so much as different types of fashion consumers have to be
matched continuously with clothing styles so the in-store arrangements of this same
merchandise must also appeal to the targeted consumers. (Cholachatpinyo et al., 2002).

Fashion retailers face increasing competition from new entrants as well as from existing
competitors. Many of these retailers are continuously trying to improve their market position
by re-evaluating the product and service provision whilst investing in new store layouts and
fixtures. These marketing strategies aim to strengthen the retailer’s market position with the
objective of focusing customer attention on their stores. Brand image of the store is
particularly critical to these fashion retailers. Previous store image studies have identified that
the merchandise attributes of price, quality and selection in conjunction with the service
provided by staff are especially important to customers when they purchase fashion clothing.
However, very little is known about how customers perceive individual retail chains and,
more importantly, the factors they use in choosing among them. (Birtwistle, Clarke and
Freath, 1989).

3.1. Research Objectives

The objective of the study is to expose the effects of merchandise display on the buying
processes. Following the objective of this research, we examined how, for a single retail
company, a set of pre-determined dimensions and associated attributes of store design chosen
to represent tangible and intangible elements of image, were perceived by customers. This
paper only attempts to signify the importance of visual merchandising in the retail fashion
context, and may not necessarily be generalized to all the industry, it does perhaps raise some
important issues in terms of future research.

3.2. Data Collection

In-dept interviews and a questionnaire were used as the central mechanisms for data
collection. The first study is based on in-dept interviews held with managers of 12 global
fashion retailers (Lacoste, Diesel, Levi’s, Marks & Spencer, Tommy Hilfiger, Zara, Nike,
Mango, Benetton, Quiksilver, Stefanel and TopShop) about the importance of visual
merchandising and their applications in their store environment. All these global retailers are
the most popular ones work with a high sales volume and sell most demandable products in
Turkey.

3.3. Research Findings

Importance of External Design: Most of the retailers implied that their display windows are
designed by home-country designers and standard designs are used for each shop; but also
some retailers work with custom visual teams. The display window must be designed to draw
the attention of customers. The colors that are used as design elements must be harmonic. The
retailers pick the most popular products to attract the customers. In some cases they put the
least popular ones to increase the sales of these products. The display windows are rearranged
as new replenishments arrive. The external design visualizes the store image in the
consumers’ mind before they take a closer look at the quality of the products.

Continuous Change: Visual merchandising plays a very important role in the efforts of
retailers to develop and maintain customers. For this reason rather than being something to be
resisted, change can be beneficial if the retailer instigates and orchestrates it. It is a means by
which to gain an edge on competitors, to raise customers' awareness of market presence, to
develop appeal to new customers and to provide a more adequate solution to customer needs
than previously offered. A design strategy serves to manage change and to encourage it. It also
serves to identify the best response to environmental change because it results in a system
which is informed and aware. Similarly, the iterative nature of the design process creates an
organizational environment in which external change can be evaluated in terms of its
significance to the retailer and the way in which its strategy is most likely to be affected.

Importance of Internal Design: The internal design of the global retailer shops are
standardized but it is adjustable to the store size and location. Spotlights and mirrors must be
used in and out of the store to expose the products. The lightening should be striking and
attractive, projecting the products and their maintenance should be done periodically. The
music played in the stores is send from home country of the retailer to keep the uniqueness in
all stores. Air conditioning is one of the crucial components for the consumers’ convenience
in stores. The color schemes of the stores are determined by concepts and themes developed
in enterprise head quarters. Each collection has its own color theme, to attract attention and
not to be outmoded; the visual team must rearrange them. The products that have the same
theme must be exhibited in the same department. The products should be placed either with
coherent or completely opposite colors. Another behavior pattern that retailers can capitalize
on through proper merchandising is the tendency that most people have to automatically turn
to the right. Putting fixtures at a 45’ angle to main traffic pattern ensures total visibility. Wall
is the single most important fixture in the entire store. It is important that the layout encourage
accessibility to this area. The wall can present more merchandise at a higher margin than any
other fixture in the store.

Product Assortment: The product assortment is done by considering the foreign consumers’
preference without diverging from the world trend.

CONCLUSION

Driven by the need to maximize profit and compete in a competitive marketplace, fashion
retailers gather critical information about target consumers and the interiors of stores are laid
out to attract and successfully target consumers.

Visual Merchandising, the fine art of presentation and display is one of the most important
pieces in running a retail store, yet it is often one of the most neglected. Visual merchandising
is the coordination of all physical elements in a place of business so that it projects the right
image to its customers.

Consumer expectations regarding in-store design have increased and there is also a
heightened desire for shopping excitement, which can in part be delivered through innovative
design of the physical environment. Such actions, coupled with effective visual
merchandising, can also aid in the creation of differentiation and brand identification. These
goals are reliant on retailers’ ability to communicate effectively with their target audience
through the physical environment. This means retailers need a detailed understanding of their
audience and also therefore places a heavy emphasis on visual merchandising. Visual
merchandising is a silent person that supports sales of retailers, supports retail strategies,
communicates with customers, communicates image and supports retailing trends. Visual
merchandising must be designed to increase store traffic and sales and ultimately store profits.
 This study was designed to examine the effect of visual factors underlying the different
aspects of visual merchandise. The whole point of visual merchandising is to get the customer
to stop and browse. To achieve this, in-store presentations must make the product stand out, to
catch the consumer's eye from a reasonable distance.

From a marketing point of view the benefit is apparent, the greater the exposure to the
individual, the greater the opportunity to influence that individual and thus encourage the
desired behavior. Everything the customer sees, both exterior and interior, that creates a
positive image of a business and results in attention, interest, desire, and action.

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